'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Arrested in Hawaii

Dog The Bounty Hunter star Duane “Dog” Chapman and two of his cohorts were arrested early Thursday in Hawaii, PEOPLE has confirmed.

Chapman, 53, his son Leland, 29, and Timothy Chapman (no relation), 41, were captured on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy stemming from their 2003 capture of Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster in Mexico.

Chapman and his team won fame – and an A&E reality show – after they caught Luster, a fugitive convicted of raping three women, in Puerto Vallarta. But they were arrested for not turning Luster over to Mexican police, and then skipped bail, U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Nikki Credic said.

Jay Bieber, public affairs officer for the U.S. Marshal’s office in Hawaii, tells PEOPLE the three are slated for extradition to Mexico after a scheduled hearing on Friday.

“The warrant was based on a formal request based on a diplomatic note from the government of Mexico,” said Bieber, who said the arrest occurred “around 6:30 a.m., (when) seven deputy marshals went to Chapman’s home in Honolulu County.”

Chapman’s rep, Mona K. Wood, called the arrest shocking, and vowed that the bounty hunter’s name would be cleared.

“This was a shock, and is obviously a very upsetting time for the Chapman family,” Wood said in a statement. “Chapman is a true modern-day hero. He arrests the bad guys – he is definitely not one of them. He shall be vindicated.”

Conflicting accounts of the arrest have already emerged: Chapman’s wife, Beth, told MSNBC’s Rita Cosby that heavily armed marshals “burst in our door and they just came right in and took him. (They) didn’t even treat him as kind as he treats his own prisoners.”

However, Bieber tells PEOPLE the marshals “were not heavily armed but had their standard equipment. They knocked on the door and announced the arrest warrant. The second time they knocked, the door slipped opened on its own. There was no forced entry. As far as I know, none of the marshals drew their weapons.”

Bieber described Chapman as “compliant and very respectful. We handle every warrant we receive seriously, and this investigation was handled just like any other.”

According to the Associated Press, Chapman was shackled at his ankles and wearing a blue muscle T-shirt at his initial court appearance Thursday. Speaking in a federal courtroom, he claimed the government was jealous of his success in hunting down criminals.

“You see what the American government is doing to us? They throw us in jail,” he said. “I’m so upset about this.”

Outside the courthouse, Beth Chapman (in a T-shirt reading in sequins, “Got Dog?”), said her husband committed no crime. “If Duane has to return to Mexico to take care of any misunderstanding, then that’s what he will do,” she said.

A rep for Chapman’s network said in a statement, “A&E supports Dog and his family during this difficult time and is proud of his role in helping to bring a convicted serial rapist to justice.”